The Ring Of Fire
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: Everyone has days where they're not themselves... but when suspicious things start to happen, who will the WWE roster turn to?
1. Never Ignore Your Senses

_**10/1/15, Orlando…**_

The bag zipped up, Amanda looked out at the sunset… although Autumn had just started, it was comfortably chilly with the temperature at 59° this evening.

But something was bugging the hell out of her… and Finn could see that, especially after Amanda had caught one of the production crew acting strange last Wednesday.

"Something on your mind?" Finn asked, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm just probably reading too much into it… I've known most of the crew for years, everyone has days where they're not themselves. But there was just something wrong with how Evan was talking on the phone. I've rarely heard him yell at anyone." Amanda said, rubbing the back of her neck like she normally did when she felt stressed or anxious as she thought back…

 _Amanda wandered down the hallway and stopped for a second, hearing a familiar voice. She had known something wasn't right the second that 52 year old Evan was yelling into his phone._

" _...you listen, if I'm not safe, you're gonna sort it out and get me covered again! Get that damn job done or we'll all be in shit street, then sort this out!" Evan yelled._

 _The other voice spoke with an accent, Amanda trying to figure out which one… but she barely had time to when the next thing she knew, the phone was thrown and had hit her in the mouth, Evan's grey eyes widening in shock and him running over to her._

" _Fuck! Mandy, I'm-" Evan starts to say._

" _Just forget it." Amanda said, visibly shaken as she walked down the hallway. She opened the door to the locker room and tried to calm herself… only to scream when she felt a hand on her back and turn around, Finn jumping back in a startled manner and him noticing blood seeping through Amanda's fingers as she held her right hand to her mouth._

 _She lowered her hand, revealing the split in her lower lip and the skin under it._

" _Don't… go near the crew today…" Amanda said through the pain as Finn had pressed a napkin to her mouth._

" _Which idiot pulled this one?!" Finn asked, dabbing away the spilled blood._

" _Evan… he tried to apologize, I just didn't want to be near him. I don't even think he saw where he was throwing his phone." Amanda answered, hissing as the pain fully set in._

 _The door opened, both seeing Hunter and Hunter's eyes widening when he saw the blood._

" _I just… saw him, he said it was an accident." Hunter says but he and Amanda could see that Finn was angry._

" _Not tonight, we don't need a repeat of what happened to Tyler." Amanda whispered, trying to calm him…_

"It was just… weird is all." Amanda said as she rubbed her sore face… once again, it was driving her crazy.

"Understandable why you'd be so shaken up… that's not exactly a normal thing for people to be shouting down the phone." Finn said.

"Or throwing them…" Amanda says as her phone chimed and she saw a text from Hunter.

' _Over here, both of you.'_

' _What happened now?'_ Amanda replied.

' _They were setting up for the next set of tapings and things got out of control.'_

"I think one of the guys got electrocuted." Amanda says as they leave the apartment.

Reaching the arena, they walked in and there was a bit of shoving amongst the others.

"Move, I want to know what happened!" Alexa screeched as she shoved Sasha, who shoved Alexa back.

Amanda looked over, seeing the burnt up lighting display and saw Enzo run to her and Finn.

"Enzo, what happened?! Why are the lights scorched?" Amanda asked.

"Someone plugged in the wrong kind of wires for them!" Enzo says.

"What kind, pyro cables?" Finn asks.

"The wrong voltage tolerance, they let too much power go to the lights and therefor, the lights become crisps." Enzo says.

"What fucking idiot did that?!" Amanda asked, Hunter overhearing her and being how he saw her as his family, he didn't like her cursing.

"Watch your mouth. As for who…" Hunter says, trailing off.

"Hunter, it can't be… Evan's worked with the company since the mid 90s, he knows the correct voltage." Amanda says, Hunter trying to calm her down.

"Mandy… it looks like it was an accident." Hunter answered.

"Where is he, is he alright?" Amanda asked.

"Evan slipped off the ladder, bruised his back and broke his leg but he's okay." Hunter said, Amanda glancing at the display. "And don't worry, we have plenty of spare light bulbs."

"Just might take some time to set them all up…" Amanda said, remembering the one time that when _Raw_ went on the air, the arena was mostly darkened and regular microphones had to be used.

Once Hunter was talking to the others, Amanda sat down on a production crate like she sometimes did and Finn rested his hands on her arms.

"I haven't told you the full story of that night, have I? Where all the lights went out barely 3 hours before we went on the air…" Amanda explained, taking a deep breath. "Some of the crew had been sick so me, John and Randy helped out… but it didn't exactly help."

"You all burned the lights?" Finn asked, Amanda looking at him.


	2. Leave The Electronics To The Crew

_**9/25/06…**_

" _Okay, that stopped being cute the seventh time…" Amanda said after Randy had swatted her on her right hip while she was on the ladder assorting the wires. "And I thought we agreed that last week was a one off…" She says once she was sure John couldn't hear._

" _I don't remember agreeing to anything…" Randy says._

" _You're my brother's best friend, Randy!" Amanda hissed, clipping the wires together… but Randy turned alarmed when he saw the bulbs light up too quickly._

 _Without warning her, Randy snatched Amanda off the ladder and threw them to the ground as the bulbs exploded._

" _Ow…" Amanda muttered as she rubbed the back of her head and both heard John running to them._

" _You two alright?!" John asked, helping his little sister and best friend up to their feet._

" _The light bulbs…" Amanda started to say, trailing off as each light went out one by one and superstars and divas emerged from their locker rooms._

" _What the hell's going on?! Who fucked up what?!" Johnny Nitro demanded._

" _No one fucked up anything, it was an accident! Go find the remaining crew members!" Randy shouted down the hall, Johnny leaving._

 _Amanda lowered her right hand, John seeing frustration in his sister's face and resting his left hand on her right shoulder._

" _We're screwed… I read that book repeatedly, put the right plugs in and all the little bulbs still exploded." Amanda says, John pulling her into his arms and noticing how tired she looked._

" _Bad night?" John asked._

" _I only got 5 hours of sleep." Amanda answered…_

 **Present time…**

"Back then, I was settling into being on the road every day… I wasn't sleeping much." Amanda said after she finished explaining.

"It wears on you after a while, being deprived of the things you need." Finn said.

"It does… I was still a teenager when I started training to wrestle, I wasn't fully used to the asleep and awake on demand schedule." Amanda says as they saw Hunter talking to Sasha.

"I told him that it wasn't safe to climb up that ladder, it was the same one they used at TakeOver in Brooklyn." Sasha explained, Alexa's head snapping up when she heard that and her glaring at Finn and Amanda.

"Uh oh, now look who wants to start trouble." Amanda mutters as Finn rubbed his right hand up and down her back, the two heading to catering.

Most of the lights were back on but the hallway was still dimmed and gave Amanda a creepy feeling, Finn keeping her close to him as Amanda glanced back over her shoulder… to her relief, the axe was still in its glass case.

"I'm never watching _Treehouse Of Horror 5_ again." Amanda says.

"Nope… 4 though." Finn said jokingly as they reached the kitchens.

Amanda headed to the vending machine… and looked in it, seeing a fake thumb with red paint on it.

"Owens, it's not Halloween yet!" Amanda said, thinking that Kevin had put the fake thumb in the vending machine.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" Kevin says, going back to the script as Amanda walked to the other machine. She put a dollar in and pressed C7… but the machine jammed and the lights went out on the buttons.

"Last time that happened, CM Punk was still with the company… what the hell's going on here?" Amanda whispered.

"Umm… 'scuse me?" They all heard, seeing a short girl of about 15 years old.

"Hello there…" Amanda said, the girl stepping and grabbing her hand with her left and Finn's with her right.

"And you in there, run right now!" The girl yelled before dragging Amanda and Finn along behind her as they all dashed out and down the hallway.

"Why are you dragging us with you?!" Amanda asked before hearing a scream and seeing Alexa fall after being crashed into. "Sorry!" She yelled.

"No, you, with us!" The girl said. "Just trust me and run-" She tried to continue… moments before a deafeningly loud 'boom' echoed and rang through their ears, sending a shockwaving cloud of dust and concrete flying through the hallways and everyone hitting the ground just in time to duck most of the debris.

When the noise and the dust had finally settled, everyone slowly climbed back to their feet, the girl checking over Alexa for any injury caused by her fall.

"What the hell was that?!" Alexa coughed out.

"That… was the vending machine." The girl said, looking at Amanda. "Rigged to go off like a firework when someone, you, used the machine, a way of confirming that it would get someone… because if I hadn't dragged you off, you would've started tapping at the machine and been right up with it when it just became black scorched toast."

"Who the hell… puts a damn bomb in a vending machine?!" Amanda asked as Finn checked on her. "I'm okay, what about you?" She responded, resting her hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah… just a cut." Finn answered, the two seeing a mark where a piece of concrete had scratched a cut into his arm.

"Yeah, and certainly a loss of whatever good look we had beforehand." Alexa said, rubbing a mass of dust out of her hair.

"Focus more on the fact that you're alive, your co-workers had no way of knowing it was rigged!" The girl says.

"Yeah, I bet! What was the idea, set off a firework so she can get the next event called off and spend more time with her dreamy fuckbuddy?!" Alexa growled… only to receive a trainer end slamming upside her chin, knocking her down to the ground.

"You can just carry yourself out, just make sure you tell someone on the way out!" The girl said angrily before she started to head off back towards the area of the explosion.

"Hey, wait up!... who even are you?" Kevin called after her, the girl looking back.

"Lauren Igneous, now get the hell outta here!" The girl said before returning to her heading back to the explosion area, looking for anyone possibly left trapped.

"This is insane…" Amanda says as Hunter reached them. "We're okay, Hunter." She responds but she knew he was in his overprotective mindset.

"Is it over?"

Lauren turned, seeing Bayley hiding behind the steel oven that had shielded her from the blast.

"It's over, bomb in the vending machine. Come on, we'll get you out." Lauren said, extending her hand to help Bayley to her feet.

"Where are Mandy, Finn and Kevin, are they alright?" Bayley asked as they reached the hallway.

"They're okay, they got out as well as Alexa." Lauren said before flipping open her old styled Sony phone as it rang. "Kyle, you're outside?... alright, you two help the people coming out, I'm looking for anyone else."

Once everyone reached the outside area, Finn and Amanda hugged and he could feel her heart racing against her upper body, resting his hands on her face.

"That brought back flashbacks to the bulbs exploding…" Amanda managed to say, resting a cloth against Finn's wounded right arm… it wasn't long before a boy about Lauren's age approached them.

"Hey, you all okay? You're not injured?" The boy asked, crouching down by where the two were sat.

"Shaken up more than anything." Finn says.

"His arm's bleeding." Amanda explains, the boy seeing the wound.

"Nothing that can't be fixed with peroxide and bandaging it." The boy said, noticing that Amanda was rubbing her right ear.

"Just some ringing… fades in and out at times. About a few years ago, I was standing near a friend when the pyro went off, malfunctioned and hit us both." Amanda explains.

"Yeah, it's like that… well you be careful, you find anything interesting or painful or that makes you wet your knickers, call for me or Kyle over there, I'm Rat." The boy said, pointing to a taller boy nearby who looked a few years older.

He walked to the group, the two looking at each other.

"This is… a bit too strange. Yes, there are kids around the arenas a lot, most of the older guys have families… but I've never seen this group before, have you?" Amanda said after they pulled themselves up to their feet.

"I haven't… that boy, Rat… he sounded Australian, and that Lauren sounded English… touch of home, almost." Finn said.

"Almost… what a fucked up day." Amanda says as she felt his arms wrap around her and they hugged.


	3. Calming The Nerves (Or Trying To)

**20 minutes later…**

"It's not safe to go back in there, is it?" Hunter asked after Lauren had found him.

"The kitchens and dining area were pretty much ripped apart, they're closing a part of the building off, it's unstable to be in." Lauren said.

"I'm not risking their lives…" Hunter said, grabbing a megaphone. "All of you, the show is being put off until further notice!" He explained, all of the wrestlers and WWE staff looking at each other and Alexa snatching the megaphone as she glared at Amanda and Finn.

"This is what happens when you pair up two people with destructive tendencies!" Alexa shouted.

"I'm gonna rip that bitch's hair out!" Amanda growled, Finn stopping her from fighting with Alexa as Lauren took the megaphone away.

"You really are an antagonistic little bitch!" Lauren said angrily.

"Oh really?! Fucking bite me!" Alexa growled.

"Trust me, you don't want me to try." Lauren warned.

"I need a drink." Amanda muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose as she felt a headache starting, Finn rubbing his hands up and down her shoulders.

"Let's go find a bar." Finn says, the two heading to their car but were stopped by Kyle.

"Is it not safe for us to leave?" Amanda asked.

"It's not a good idea to go and get pissed while you're involved in something like this, people need everyone else. Drink yourselves silly afterwards." Kyle said.

"And what about the pint sized terror causing the headaches?" Finn asked, his hands on Amanda's shoulders.

"If she doesn't stop soon, Lauren will make her. Trust me." Kyle said.

Kyle headed over to Rat, who glanced at them.

"The tiny one starting to feel that migraine hit her?" Rat asked.

"Yeah, much more of this and she's gonna-" Kyle started to say, cut off as Alexa let out a scream and ran at Lauren… who with perfect timing, grabbed her hands onto Alexa's shoulders, vaulted over her and then dragged her overhead, slamming her down on the concrete ground.

"You had enough?!" Lauren yelled.

"Get off me!" Alexa screeched, Lauren yanking her up to her feet.

"Take your jacket and fuck off!" Lauren growled, shoving Alexa back.

Alexa stormed off, Amanda burying her face into Finn's shoulder so the others wouldn't see how near laughter she was. Lauren smiled, knowing that Alexa's attitude had frustrated Amanda… and after finding out what she did about the 25 year old's past, Lauren knew that Amanda could use a laugh.

"No more migraine, gone like the devil in an exorcism." Kyle said, Lauren giving him a smile.

With the chaos dissipating, Amanda looked up at the charred parts of the walls as she felt Finn lightly tug on her right wrist.

"We nearly died in there…" Amanda said quietly, Finn wrapping his arms around her… one was around her shoulders, the other around her waist as he pressed his mouth against her forehead in a light kiss, her hands entwined with his.

"Don't get any ideas." Lauren muttered, stood next to Rat.

"Damn it, ya tease!" Rat pouted.

"You're one to talk." Lauren responded, lightly swatting his left arm.

"I say we go check on them." Rat says.

"Follow them home, have you lost your mind?" Lauren asks.

"We've done it before, ain't we? Part of the job." Rat said, Lauren rolling her eyes.

"Yes… it is." Lauren admitted.

Sneaking away from the others, they followed the two… Rat stopped the car a distance when he saw Finn and Amanda walk into the apartment but before he could look closer, the curtains were pulled closed after the door was closed and locked.

"I know we could easily go in there but-" Lauren started to say, a click sounding as Rat raised and flicked open his lock gun. "...you're an idiot, you know that? Get that down!" She said, swatting Rat's hand back down and making him drop the tool.

"That girl's barely 5'1", what's she gonna do, jump on my back and put me in a headlock?" Rat answered.

"They're professional wrestlers, Rat. Adult, professional wrestlers who've been at this all their lives. Alexa was angry and not fully concentrated, those two would absolutely floor us." Lauren said.

"Yeah…" Rat says before driving off.

"Is that car gone?" Amanda asked as Finn pulled the curtains open.

"Yeah… just some creepy weirdos, most likely." Finn said, the two having not recognised Lauren and Rat inside.

"Yeah…" Amanda says as she turned the Tv on, seeing that the explosion was on the news… and then her phone rang, her answering it. "We're okay, John."

"You sure?! Looks almost like half that side of the building was burnt!" John said.

"Yes, we're okay. Just a bit shaken up, that's all." Amanda answered, John hearing a whiskey bottle being opened in the background.

"You better not get my little sister drunk, Balor!" John said warningly.

"I don't drink all that much anymore, John!" Amanda says as she sat down, feeling a half empty glass being put in her left hand and slowly sipping the whiskey. "Look, I'll call you back tomorrow and knowing what goes through Hunter's mind, the NXT roster might be on tour with us until the building's considered safe. Under any circumstances, do not tell Seth about that last part. Okay?"

"Got it, kiddo." John responds before they hang up.

Amanda set the phone down and finished the whiskey before setting the glass down and curling her legs towards herself as Finn sat down next to her and put his left arm around her shoulders.

"On tour with you and the others…" Finn says.

"Only happened a few times before back when NXT was FCW… ironically, that's how Seth and I spent so much time together before he was called up to the main roster." Amanda explains, running her fingers through her hair for a few seconds. "I kind of miss those days sometimes when we weren't fighting so much… but it feels wrong to say that I miss my best friend when he was the one who slammed a chair into my leg and broke it." She said as they looked at each other.

"You know, looking at those kids out there made me think of that sort of thing… maybe sometimes, that kind of thing ends up being the thing to bring people together more. They've clearly been through some things together." Finn said.

"They have… that's why it'd take a crowbar to pry them apart for good, if someone's tried to." Amanda said tiredly, resting her head on Finn's shoulder.

"Hey, come on then. It's been a hellish day. About time we rest." Finn said, lightly stroking his hand along her arm.

"We need it…" Amanda whispered as they stood up and headed upstairs.

 **Meanwhile…**

"Where in the hell did they disappear off to, how'd you lose them that quick?!" Lauren hissed as she and Rat looked around the bar for a drunken Baron and Bayley.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've been trying to set them up, Bayley." Baron slurred after his fifth beer.

"Who, Mandy and Finn or two of the kids we saw?" Bayley giggled after her third glass of red wine.

"Ehh… all of them, maybe." Baron replied, a spell of dizziness almost causing him to spill his drink down himself.

"Okay, give up your keys, Mr. Lone Wolf…" Bayley laughed as she tried to take his keys, Baron catching her from falling.

"You're a lightweight!" Baron said loudly.

"Am not! Not compared to… Dana? No, not Dana. Emma… nah. Sasha! That's it!" Bayley slurred, Rat and Lauren walking over.

"Well our Dana certainly ain't a lightweight." Rat said.

"Not by drink, no. Throw some bed at her, mind you, that's a different story." Lauren said, still having gotten not even close to forgiving Dana back at Campus for the whole cheating involving Lauren's brother and his best friend.

"Everyone… well almost everyone goes crazy in NXT. How about I tell you kids-" Bayley said, cut off by Baron's right hand clamping onto her mouth.

"Bayley, they're a bit too young to hear that story." Baron whispered.

"Trust me, we've got hellish stories ourselves. Like… my brother playing in a football match with a club in the area we used to be at. Fell and hurt his leg, so the coach sent him to the house just across the road, where his daughter's gonna patch his leg up. Bro strips off to get the leg all cleaned up in the back, daughter comes into the bathroom… with her dad just across the road and my brother's best friend downstairs in the house, they get in the bath and go like dogs!" Lauren said.

"Damn!" Baron and Bayley said simultaneously.

"Yeah, the same best friend who later went and smashed our Dana, then James' girlfriend, while James was away for a while, so we've been in some stories ourselves." Rat said.

Bayley had pried Baron's hand off her, attempting to stand up but lost her balance and Baron catching her.

"And out she goes…" Baron said as he picked Bayley up into his arms.


	4. In The Cold Light Of Day

Early morning sunrays always made one or both pull the covers over their heads… but the noise downstairs made Finn and Amanda bolt upright.

"We locked the doors and windows, right?" Amanda asked sleepily.

"Yeah, after that car followed us last night." Finn confirmed, stopping Amanda from standing up.

He grabbed a baseball bat, Amanda eventually standing up and the Balor Club shirt she was wearing reaching just above her knees as she followed Finn downstairs… Finn lowered the bat when he saw Bayley in the living room and Baron in the kitchen.

"Thought you were gonna go all Saturday Night Special on me." Baron said as _Saturday Night Special_ by Lynyrd Skynyrd played on the radio.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Finn asked, seeing that the windows weren't broken and the door locks were still intact.

"Found this little beast." Baron said, holding up a small tool with a range of different sized screws and key shapes on the end of a light blue handle. "It opens any lock I try it on."

"How the hell…" Amanda started to ask, a loud knock at the door cutting them off… the blur of black hair outside and the Redesign, Rebuild, Reclaim shirt was a dead giveaway as to who it was.

"Open up!" Seth shouted… before he turned and saw Rat. "What's brought you here too?"

"One of them nicked up my… tool." Rat said.

"Rat, hit him if he tries to break the door down!" Amanda called out.

"Yikes, what did you do to piss her off?" Rat asked.

"It's a… damn crazy story. Mandy, open this door!" Seth says, beating his fist against the door.

Amanda headed upstairs and Finn was the one to open the door, Baron handing the tool back to Rat.

"You really need to stop tracking my phone, Seth." Amanda said after returning to the living room, ready for the day and pulling her long hair into a messy high bun.

"Tracking things is my… well, thing. And I hope you didn't break down too many locks with this." Rat said, putting the tool back in his pocket.

"Just their door… okay, so I may have drank a little more after Bayley passed out. And possibly..." Baron says, turning back to the coffee pot.

Amanda noticed Baron's phone, looked over and then at him.

"Yeah… he didn't track your phone, I called him while drunk." Baron admitted.

"And then when I tried to tell him off, he snatched my lock gun and legged it." Rat added.

"Well, he didn't try to set anyone on fire, I'm assuming? I don't remember much." Bayley says after pulling herself up and rubbing her head, Amanda finding some Advil and a bottle of water for Bayley and handing them to her.

"Not that I saw." Rat answered.

Amanda glanced at her phone, seeing a text from Dean.

' _Lock your doors, Seth's headed there!'_

' _Too late, he already showed up.'_ Amanda replied.

"Lock your doors, hide your keys?" Rat asked.

"I… have a tendency of swiping things and finding her." Seth admits, Amanda seeing a text from Evan.

' _Hey, kiddo, come visit me?'_

"Is that…" Rat started to say once he caught a glimpse of the name.

"Yeah… I want to think better of him, I've known him since John first joined the company but…" Amanda said, trailing off.

"But… He's part of the reason me and the others are here." Rat said.

"Yeah…" Amanda says, taking a deep breath. "Will you tag along with us?" She asked.

"I can't… But I think another one of us can, Kerry. I've… Made connections I've got to stick to. We're on a mild open approach with you lot, not with Evan though… We're agents, you could say. Secret service stuff." Rat said.

At the hospital's ICU floor, Amanda took a deep breath and walked into the room after opening the door, Evan looking up at her.

"Hey… who's that out there?" Evan said, having noticed the kid outside with an Asian look about her when the door had been opened.

"One of the ones who was there yesterday… Evan, I need you to be honest with me here, not as the little girl you and the older wrestlers still see me as but as an adult. Did you rig that vending machine?" Amanda managed to say.

"I swear, I didn't think it would be you to press the buttons…" Evan said, Kerry stepping in and leaning against the wall by the doorway once she heard that.

"Then who were you thinking would press those buttons?" Amanda asked when Evan noticed that Finn was outside in the hallway… and then Evan noticed the disturbed and angered look in the young diva's hazel eyes. "You said you had no problem with him…" She managed to say, Kerry trying to guide Amanda out of the room.

"Go and calm down." Kerry whispered, Amanda leaving.

"It was never anything against those kids…" Evan starts to explain when Kerry saw Finn and Amanda hugging.

"Look, I really don't care what your aim was with that bomb. I just need to know where you got it from, who you dealt with." Kerry said.

Evan reached for his phone, Kerry seeing the number that he last dialed.

"That's their number… after what happened, I'm done working with them. I've already admitted everything to the cops, just… tell Mandy that I never meant to hurt her." Evan said.

"Yeah, about that, I don't care… professionally. But cheers for that." Kerry said, starting to walk away on the last part and on her way, swiping down a hard slap on Evan's elevated broken leg, causing him to yell out as she passed through the door.

Outside, she found them on a bench, Amanda refusing to look up as Finn held her and Kerry knew that Amanda was trying to hide how she felt and walked over.

"It never gets any easier… betrayal." Kerry said.

"Especially when it's someone who watched you grow up… I just got a call from Hunter, they're tightening up background checks on everyone who works with the company and everyone they're looking to hire." Amanda says after looking up, her and Finn standing up and turning to leave but Kerry stopped them. "Are you and your friends… gonna stick around for a while?" She asked.

"We've got a lot of work to be doing, we'll be around for a while yet." Kerry said.

Amanda nodded, her and Finn leaving and Lauren finding Kerry.

"She's trying to not let it slip through…" Lauren said.

"When the cracks start to form, they try to patch them and hide them from the world." Kerry responded.

"You don't think she's gonna lapse back into her old habits, do you?" Lauren asked.

"I know she'll at least think about them… we see it enough with the younger ones who arrive, the counselling and training helps them move past their losses or whatever they've gone through and surpass their ways of dealing with it, then a year or two down the line they go through a tough assignment and suddenly, they're back to how they were." Kerry said.

"Yeah… And then sometimes, they have to go because they've just become inconsolable, irreparable, and can't work their training right." Lauren added.

"Yep…" Kerry says.

At the apartment, Amanda closed her eyes once she closed the door and leaned against the door itself… she didn't even put up a fight when she felt arms around her but then again, she could never really shove Finn away.

Throughout everything in the past year and a half, he had been by her side... but she was scared that she'd wake up one day and she'd be alone again.

"Please don't ever leave me…" Amanda whispered as they held each other… and Finn knew that the wall that Amanda had kept building back up had finally crashed down completely.

"I'm never abandoning you, Mandy." Finn said quietly as he kissed the top of her head.


	5. Turning To

**A few days later, Amway Centre…**

"Damn, this place is like a maze…" Kyle said as he, Rat and Lauren walked through the hallways.

"It's WWE, there's no such thing as anything being 'big enough'." Rat said.

"Yep. Ah, here it is." Lauren says as they reached the locker room… when she knocked on the door, Amanda opened it after throwing her Balor Club hoodie on and zipping it up over her silver and navy blue ring outfit.

"Did you run into Enzo?" Amanda asked, noticing the blue and yellow wristband on Kyle's wrist as she finished applying some spray in blue hair colour to the ends of her hair and put her pale blue contact lenses in her eyes.

"Yeah… seriously, is he always that hyper?" Kyle responded.

"He takes some getting used to at first…" Amanda said, making sure everything was in place but she wasn't gonna go with the angel wings tonight.

The door opened and Finn walked into the room, Kerry following him… and Enzo as well but he had a bruise under his right eye.

"She punched me!" Enzo says, putting a gel pack on his eye.

"And I will again, my name's Kerry, not 'Chong'!" Kerry said angrily.

"Enzo, you better knock that off!" Amanda said in an angered tone, muttering about how the last time they were overseas that Enzo wouldn't shut up after too much alcohol.

"What did he do?" Kerry asked.

"When we were in Germany back in May, he started trash talking some of the crowd after he drank someone's spiked drinks and somehow, the flag hanging above him fell off and he got tangled up in it… in an attempt to get free, the flag ripped. The local authorities weren't happy." Amanda explained.

"Oh no, you don't piss off the north, ruthless people when you do them wrong." Lauren said.

"It was an accident, I swear!" Enzo says defensively.

Amanda and Finn left the locker room but stopped down the hallway as Finn tugged on Amanda's right wrist in a concerned manner, worried about her mental state with her going into the battle royal tonight.

"I know… Alexa's in it too and doesn't exactly play fair. Neither have I when I've had to play a bad girl on screen." Amanda says.

"Even when you were with The Shield, you never bit people." Finn said.

"Not on camera… except once. Remember that bite scar you saw on Dean's left wrist? That was me the night that Adrian Neville lost his chance at the US Title." Amanda admitted, Finn trying not to laugh. "It's not funny!" She says as she swatted his right arm playfully.

"I was imagining him screaming, not laughing at you, lass." Finn says as they hug.

 _ **Divas battle royal, 15 minutes into the match…**_

"Ow, damn!" Lauren said, jumping back after Amanda had dropkicked Alexa off the top turnbuckle and Alexa fell to the mat outside.

The match was down to Amanda and Sasha, both fighting back and forth and Amanda backing up and running at Sasha after having dragged her over the top rope.

With one kick, Sasha was down and the bell rang, Amanda and Finn hugging.

Lauren had a feeling that something was off though when she saw Murphy get into the ring and start yelling at Finn as the referees were dealing with a still screaming Alexa, who shoved Sasha against the barricade and rendered her out cold…

A fight had broken out and Amanda jumped on Murphy to break it up, unaware that Alexa had a lead pipe in her hands… until the pipe connected hard and directly onto Amanda's left ankle, Amanda screaming as she fell and Finn scrambling to her, holding her in his arms as she tried to move her left leg but couldn't.

"What the hell is the matter with you?! You just broke her damn leg!" Murphy yelled in shock at his girlfriend after getting the weapon away from her.

Amanda managed to pull herself up to where she could sit up but the way Finn was holding her prevented her from attempting to stand as Amanda tried to check on Sasha.

"That was too damn low, even for you!" Finn growled at Alexa before picking Amanda up into his arms as he stood up, taking her away from the ring and to the back where Lauren found them.

"I am not gonna let that fucking pass!" Lauren said through gritted teeth.

"I don't blame ya… I've fucking had it with that bitch. There was nothing in tonight's script about any kind of weapon." Amanda managed to say, tears running down her face and her brushing them away.

Alexa had reached the backstage area alone… and was immediately grabbed and pinned against the wall by Lauren, who was choking her.

"Those kind of injuries could end someone's career here, are you fucking crazy?!" Lauren growled.

"Sasha should've gone to the back! Instead, she tries to protect that little tramp!" Alexa yelled after Lauren had let go, Lauren slapping her.

"What makes her such a 'tramp'?! Because she's found someone she could love as more than a friend?! What, I've got a boyfriend, am I a fuckin tramp?!" Lauren said, anger still searing through her veins.

"If they're in 'love', why are they hiding it?! They're just using each-" Alexa yells, cut off by Becky Lynch punching her right in the face.

"Whatever they are to each other, it shouldn't affect you one little bit! Or are you still pissed about Murphy's shoulder being snapped out of its socket after he kicked Mandy off the ring apron back in September?!" Becky shouted, Lauren getting her to back up.

"Out of its socket?" Lauren asked.

"Finn… has a tendency to get overprotective whenever someone hurts Mandy. He ended up putting Murphy on a stretcher." Becky explains.

"Oh, well that explains something. But if someone attacked you, you wouldn't want your partner to just stand by and let it happen, would you?" Lauren said.

"Hell no…" Becky said before they left. They had reached the hospital and saw Amanda putting her contact lenses back in their little case, her leg temporarily braced.

"X-Ray scans aren't back yet… they think it just might be a hairline fracture, that takes about 6 weeks to recover from usually." Amanda said after looking up, Finn's hand rubbing up and down her back.

"Something else bugging you?" Lauren asked.

"I looked at the scripts for the upcoming weeks… I was supposed to be part of a tournament to go on and win the Cruiserweight Championship since they're bringing it back… well, sort of, it looks a lot different than it was. I'm not really upset, just disappointed… I was looking forward to it." Amanda explained, brushing her tears away.

"I was looking forward to going to Spain for the summer… Then this came up. But you know, sometimes what happens instead can be just as good as what you're missing." Lauren said.

Amanda nodded as she leaned against Finn, Lauren and Becky letting them be as the doctor walked in.

"I ain't seen her like this since the night that The Shield splintered apart…" Becky said quietly.

"That's where things got really bad between her and Seth, right?" Lauren asked.

"It wasn't too long after that when…" Becky starts to explain.


	6. Talk To Me

_**6/6/14…**_

" _Becca, she doesn't even know me, what if she freaks out and attacks me?" Finn asked, putting up some resistance as the redhead was pulling on his arm._

" _You know damn well I wouldn't bring you here if I didn't think you couldn't cheer her up, now come on!" Becky says as she dragged Finn along with her through the hotel._

 _They stopped at the room, Becky knocking on the door… when it opened, Dean was confused._

" _It's okay, Dean, he's a friend of mine… how is she, has she talked at all today?" Becky said, asking the last part._

" _Not much…" Dean answered, letting them in… the second she heard the footsteps, Amanda looked up and Finn immediately saw that her hazel eyes were red from a combination of crying and exhaustion._

" _Hi…" Amanda managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper as Finn sat down and saw that she was trembling._

" _Hey… don't worry, I won't… I'm a friend of Becky's, she brought me here to help you out of this." Finn says, resting a hand on Amanda's left arm._

" _My best friend hurt me… and I don't know why…" Amanda managed to say as tears welled up in her eyes, Finn's arms carefully wrapping around her and him seeing part of the brace on her right leg…_

 **Present time…**

The doors to the ER flew open and Lauren saw Seth run in and over to her.

"Where's Mandy?!" Seth asked.

"In a bed." Lauren replied simply.

"In a bed where?!" Seth questioned.

"In a room." Lauren said.

"It's busy here, Seth, they're having to triage the patients." Becky says, trying to calm him.

In the treatment room, Finn looked over at Amanda and saw her starting to stir out of her medicated sleep when she heard the noise. Reaching over, Finn lightly stroked her hair and absentmindedly traced his fingers over the scar on the palm of her left hand when he reached her arm.

The door opened and Rat walked in.

"I don't know how much longer Lauren and Becky can hold him off…" Rat whispered, careful not to wake Amanda and seeing that she had an orthopedic brace on her leg.

The shouting escalated and before either could stop Amanda, she limped out there and her right hand connected with Seth's face in a stinging slap.

"Get it together and stop shouting! And if you even try to follow through with that threat to drag me to Davenport, you've got another thing coming, boy!" Amanda said, eyes narrowed in anger before she limped back into the room and slammed the door, Finn helping her back onto the gurney.

"I don't know how much more I can take of that guy, he's steps away from getting enough to sideline him for good!" Lauren said.

"I was wondering when she would finally smack the taste out of his mouth." Becky says after they walked into the room.

"Well right now, I feel like heading out of this place and crashing at the apartment but I-4 and the local streets are a madhouse at this hour." Amanda said as she fidgeted with the ring boot on her right foot.

When they were out of there, it was nearly 2 in the morning. Cleaned off, ready for sleep and with the brace back on, Amanda let Finn help her back into their room and to the bed… but as their luck would have it, Colin and Enzo were staying next door and were drunk, both howling the words of We Are Young by Fun.

"Keep it down, damn it! Shut the fuck up before I rip your tongues out!" Finn yelled, him and Amanda at their wits end as he beat his hand against the wall.

Enzo turned the radio off after hearing that, Colin sitting down.

"Damn, Finn's threatening to do that… Tiny's hurting bad." Enzo said.

"After what's been going on, what can you expect?" Colin replied.

"It was still startling… poor kid just wanted to celebrate with him tonight, now she's stuck in a brace for the next few weeks." Enzo said as he started to sober up.

On her back with her leg propped up, Amanda finally broke down and sobbed as Finn held her in his arms, her face buried into him as she turned slightly, trying not to aggravate her ankle.

This was a side of Amanda that hadn't been out in years… she wasn't insisting that she was okay, she was letting it all out.

And it made tears run down Finn's face too.

"You can't keep it in anymore, Mandy… and you don't have to." Finn whispered as he buried his face into the top of her head as she curled up against him.

"It's just… it's all too much…" Amanda whispered through her tears.

"There's people with us who'll help now… I suggest that when we're ready, we ask them for that help." Finn said quietly.

Amanda nodded, finally closing her eyes and falling into sleep.

With no alarms, Finn wanted to make sure that Amanda got the sleep that was very much needed.

It was early into the next day that Lauren was checking on everyone… when she got to Enzo's room, the door opened and he looked like he hadn't slept at all.

"I've known Mandy for five years… but I've never once heard her cry like that." Enzo said after letting Lauren in, closing the door.

"Sometimes it happens like that… someone I used to know literally had to leave our MI branch because a similar thing hit them so bad. They just fell apart inside." Lauren said.

"It builds up… and when it finally spills out, we can't keep it in anymore." Enzo said, heading to the hallway and seeing the Do Not Disturb sign still on the door.

"You heard it all too?" Roman asked when he saw Enzo.

"Yeah… hey, you got a lock thing like Rat did?" Enzo said, the second part directed at Lauren.

"Yes, and you're not having it." Lauren answered.

"Okay." Enzo replied, heading to the elevator instead and to the lobby, setting out a coffee tray and two Styrofoam cups, lids and straws along with as much sugar and creamer as he could find.

"Looks like we had the same idea." Enzo heard, turning and seeing John.

"You once said… that Mandy would go quiet at times after something like this but…" Enzo said.

"Last night was the complete opposite… when I finally got to her, she was half asleep and trembling with these heart wrenching cries slipping out…" John says, his eyes red from crying.

Going into an older brother mindset like Colin would do, Enzo pulled John into a hug and neither seemed to mind.


	7. Letting Yourself Heal

Amanda didn't want to open her eyes, it was instinct to because she had been used to early alarms… but she found that under her right ear, she could hear Finn's heart beating and realised that she hadn't used her pillow much.

Amanda was about to readjust herself but out of instinct, Finn's arms tightened around her.

"You're not gonna let me stand up, are you?" Amanda asked quietly.

"Nu-uh." Finn muttered by her ear, pulling her gently back down.

Amanda groaned sleepily, rubbing her eyes and hearing a knock at the door.

"Enzo, is that you?" Finn asked, opening his eyes.

"You ain't letting go of Mandy, are ya?" Enzo responded.

Lauren stopped after hearing that.

"Well now that I'm more awake, good morning. And if you go in there, he's being clingy to her." Enzo said after seeing her.

"Mornin'... hey you two in there, if you want him to come in, I can let him in for you!" Lauren said, the second part towards the door.

"We'll be up in a bit…" Finn said, helping Amanda sit up. They hugged before he stood up and walked over, letting Enzo and Lauren in.

"You feeling okay now, both of you?" Lauren asked.

"A bit… it's gonna take some time." Amanda said, her throat dried out.

"It does…" Lauren said, before reaching into the right side pocket of her sports jacket and handing Amanda a small bottle of fruit juice she'd had, after hearing the dryness in her voice.

Amanda opened it and drank it slowly after nodding, feeling the relief hit her right away… but she was trying to figure out how to put it into words what Finn had said last night.

Lauren could see it though, Amanda's mind wasn't processing much in the early morning hours.

Amanda saw a text on her phone, seeing that it was from Hunter.

' _Look out the window.'_

Carefully standing up and hobbling to the window, Amanda looked… and then turned back to the others.

"You won't believe this…" Amanda said as Finn, Enzo and Lauren reached the window and saw what Amanda had seen, Alexa being shoved into the back of a squad car.

"Ma'am, do you understand these rights as I've read them to you?" One of the officers asked, getting impatient with Alexa, who was still resisting after being tasered twice… and kicked the officer right between his legs, the officer falling and Alexa being tased again and shoved into the car before the door was slammed.

"Assaulting an officer usually gets someone quite a few years behind bars, right?" Enzo asked.

"Usually." Lauren answered as Finn helped Amanda sit down and prop her ankle up.

"Unless she takes a plea bargain like Tonya Harding did in 1994." Amanda says, readjusting her hair into a ponytail.

"How in the hell do you even remember that? You were just a kid when that happened." Enzo said, Lauren slapping him upside his head.

"You'd be surprised what you can find online." Amanda responds.

In the lobby downstairs, Rat saw Seth walk in.

"I take it you just saw her getting taken off to jail?" Rat asked.

"Yeah… look, some of us have been talking amongst ourselves, trying to figure out what secret service uses teenagers as spies…" Seth says after sitting down. "You all really should be enjoying this time in your lives, not working for the government… why did you decide to do this?" He asked.

"Well, I was gonna ask them but you already did." Randy says after sitting down.

"In some way or another, we all followed a similar path… tiny families without many people to take care of us, outcasted from friends… then our parents were gone. Sometimes they commit crimes and go to prison, sometimes their lives ended… one way or another, we came to end up in care homes where our talents got noticed by an agent on a scouting trip. Not everyone takes up the offer to join, some people can't succeed the trials… but I suppose…" Rat said, trailing off before taking a folded piece of card from his pocket and handing it to Seth, who opened it and saw a small crowd of kids, ranging from their early to mid teens, all looking like they were having the time of their lives and at the far left, Rat was there. "I suppose… most of us joined originally to have somewhere to belong, have people who'd really care… feel some sort of purpose to our lives."

"Everyone has to find one…" Seth says, handing the photo back to Rat.

"Yeah… and from what I had found out, Mandy was the youngest out of you all for a long time. I guess when Alexa joined, she automatically expected the attention to be on herself instead…" Rat says.

"When it was still on Mandy, that's when Alexa got pissed." Randy said as he checked his phone. "She's most likely still asleep now."

"Do you remember how this all started?" Rat asked.

"Yeah…" Randy says, starting to explain.

 _ **11/17/14, WWE Performance Centre…**_

" _Just because I can't wrestle for another few weeks doesn't mean I can't strengthen my arms again… and you know that Konnor and Viktor apologized for injuring my kidney. And why are you hovering over me, aren't you supposed to be getting ready for Thanksgiving?" Amanda says after putting the 10 pound barbells back and stretching her arms, Randy seeing the outline of the stitches on her back through her shirt._

" _You know it won't be the same without you, Alanna misses her godmother… and I've been wanting to ask…" Randy starts to say, trailing off but Amanda knew where he was going._

" _You're on the fence about my friendship with Finn, aren't ya?" Amanda questioned, knowing that look. "You think after the 13 years you've known my family that I wouldn't recognise that concerned look? I know you're worried, Randy."_

" _Aw, isn't this cute."_

 _Both looked, seeing Alexa._

" _We don't have a sparring session today, I'm just trying to build my strength back up." Amanda says, trying to keep a fight from starting and Alexa could see that._

" _Go rest." Randy said, him and Amanda hugging before she left and he turned to Alexa. "I was fucked up mentally for a long time and took it out on her in horrible, traumatizing ways but she and I both grew up and I still care about her."_

" _Then keep her away from Balor." Alexa said._

" _They're good for each other and his blood is the reason she's still alive after that madness on NXT. Or are you with your sense of entitlement just jealous that you're not in the spotlight yet, little miss Bliss?" Randy says, Alexa narrowing her eyes at him in anger._

 _Amanda was leaned against the wall in the hallway… and yelped slightly when she felt the waistband of her yoga leggings hit her, turned and saw Finn smirking playfully._

" _Good one…" Amanda said, Finn letting the smirk fall when he saw that she wasn't as energetic as she was earlier and rested his right hand on her left shoulder. "Lexa tried to start some stupid fight… you ever feel like some people are just crazy without an explanation as to why?" She asked._

" _Quite simple… it's not Darth Vader, it's Diva Vader." Finn joked, trying to cheer her up a bit as well as giving a serious answer._

 _Amanda laughed before the two hugged, letting herself calm down._

" _You always have a way to make me feel better…" Amanda said quietly._

 **Present time…**

The three stopped outside the room, Seth looking at Randy and Rat when they glanced at him.

"Should I… knock on the door? I don't want to piss her off again." Seth said nervously.

"How hard did she slap you, Rollins?" Randy asked.

Seth opened his mouth, revealing a chipped tooth and Randy knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" Amanda called out.

"The three Rs! Ratty, Randy and Rollins!" Rat replied.

The door opened, Finn stepping aside and letting them in before closing the door… and Amanda looking at Seth.

"I'm sorry about slapping you…" Amanda says, thinking that Seth had wanted an apology but instead he carefully pulled her into his arms.

"Don't be, I was an idiot last night. How you feeling today?" Seth responded after they let go.

"Okay… for the most part. Didn't think I'd see anyone being taken away in handcuffs today." Amanda answered.

"Any idea who had called the cops?" Randy asked.

"I think we already know the answer, Hunter doesn't let anything like that go." Amanda answered.

"Overly protective boss?" Rat asked.

"He's more like family…" Amanda says, turning to Rat.


	8. Frustration Boiled Over

_**Last month…**_

 _Hunter could hear it clear as a bell from his office and reached the hallway, seeing an angry Amanda slam a production crate into a wall._

" _Hey, easy!" Hunter said loudly, pulling Amanda aside._

" _That little bitch scratched Finn's neck open, Hunter! Then hauled ass when I was helping him sit up, he didn't even do anything to her!" Amanda yelled, Hunter forcing her to sit down and seeing from her scraped up hands that she had put them through something. "I'm trying to keep calm, to keep my stress levels down… but with everything that's happened… I feel like I'm losing my fucking mind."_

" _Remember how upset you were when Brock and Kurt got injured at Wrestlemania 19?" Hunter asked._

" _I was scared to death… I was scared they wouldn't walk out alive, head injuries and broken necks kill people." Amanda managed to say. "Seeing that blood out there earlier, I thought…" She started to say but felt a hand on her right shoulder… to her relief, Finn didn't need stitches._

 _Amanda stood up and immediately her arms were around him, Finn reciprocating the tight embrace._

" _That scared me out there…" Amanda whispered as she felt tears running down her face and his fingers running up the back of her neck and through her hair._

 _Deciding to let them be, Hunter headed back to his office… and saw a bruised and bleeding Alexa._

" _Watch how deep you scratch people from now on." Hunter said, in no mood to deal with Alexa... but she wasn't leaving right away._

" _And what are you gonna do about her punching and hitting me like an MMA fighter?!" Alexa demanded._

" _Not let it go, okay?!... All of you just keep on at each other, the ring is where it should finish!" Hunter said, getting frustrated but Alexa wouldn't let it go either._

" _Not let it go?! Yeah, you won't let it go until you give her the fat chocolate cake and a card saying 'well done'-" Alexa shouted, cut off by Hunter stepping around suddenly and walking right up to her._

" _I'm not putting up with it, you either get it together or pick a door and fuck off!" Hunter growled in her ear, before heading off past her and away to go and calm himself down._

 _His phone chimed and he looked at it, seeing a text from his oldest daughter Aurora._

' _Daddy, are they okay?'_

' _They're on their recovery road, sweetheart, they'll all be okay.' Hunter replied._

" _I really am sorry about it…"_

 _Hunter turned, seeing Amanda and knew that she was being truthful._

" _I know… that's why I didn't tell you the same I told Alexa." Hunter said._

" _I don't want to know the full details, do I?" Amanda asked, rubbing her bruising arms and elbows._

" _Not really… in cliffnotes, either calm it right down or pick a door." Hunter said._

" _Yeah…" Amanda says, Hunter seeing that she had let herself calm down… but he knew that she cared about Finn and it reminded Hunter of himself and Stephanie in their younger years._

" _You really like him, I can see that." Hunter said._

" _I haven't felt like that about any guy in a long time, Hunter… I know Finn and I've known each other for a little over a year but it's like we've known each other our whole lives." Amanda admitted, Hunter letting a small smile out._

" _Then let yourself enjoy it… go on, kiddo." Hunter says before they hugged, Amanda leaving…_

 **Present time…**

"In some ways, Hunter still sees me as a kid… that never really goes away, that nostalgia." Amanda said after she had gotten ready for the day, Rat sitting down.

"Yeah, it does happen… some of the staff back at Campus still look at me and see that little 9 year old running around the hallways, hyper out of his mind… usually with half of his breakfast stuck on his red shirt." Rat said.

Amanda chuckled at that, Rat seeing that there were times she ran around arenas as a kid.

When they reached the lobby, Rat walked to Lauren but they saw the color drain from Amanda's face when she and Finn saw Hunter.

The two took deep breaths and Amanda sat down after Finn had pulled the chair back for her before sitting down himself, Hunter rubbing Amanda's left shoulder.

"Don't freak out, you're not the one in trouble here." Hunter said.

"The cops are more focused on what happened last night? And how's Sasha, is she okay?" Amanda questioned.

"Just a few bruises, no concussion… doctor say how long you'll be out?" Hunter said, asking the last part.

"A little longer than I thought… on top of the fracture, two of the muscles in my ankle have small tears in them." Amanda says, Hunter grimacing at that and reaching out, his arms wrapping around Amanda and her returning the hug.

Rat turned, seeing the look on Lauren's face.

"She needs to rebuild…" Lauren said quietly.

"What's in that mind of yours on how?" Rat asked.

"A switch up… James is enjoying this whole assignment out there in the restaurant, he's loving it. Maybe sort out to go there later." Lauren said.

"Maybe…" Rat said, showing Lauren something he had found earlier… he had taken pictures of some ideas Amanda had written down, Lauren seeing that one had been approved and that was to dye Amanda's hair darker.

"Changes in our lives sometimes make us change ourselves along with them." Lauren said, remembering how after one particularly stressful mission, she'd spend the following few months with cherry red dye in her hair and a completely different style of makeup. She hadn't thought much different in the moment, but looking back on it, she knew that she'd been trying to hide herself from her shaken mind being seen by anyone else.

It was out later at Walgreens that Lauren saw Amanda and Becky and in Amanda's hands were two boxes of hair dye… one was a bluish black shade, the other a coppery red… even with tanned skin, Amanda didn't wear red all that much, that was something Lauren had noticed.

Amanda put the coppery red back and saw Lauren walk over.

"Change takes a lot of thought into it... but I like that color." Lauren says.

"Lauren, where'd ya go?!" All three heard Rat asking.

"By the hair colours!" Lauren called back to him.

"I'm a few aisles over, come here." Rat said.

Lauren headed towards where she had heard Rat call out from… and felt a set of fabric bunny ears placed onto her head, turning and seeing Rat.

"We might be here for a while, there was talk of a Halloween party coming up…" Rat says as his right hand entwined with her left.

"Might we?... hope it doesn't get cold." Lauren said.

"Hey…" Rat said quietly, his thumb brushing over the back of her hand and the two looked at each other, their eyes locked… until Lauren quickly moved in and the two's lips collided.


	9. To Calm Down…

Amanda looked in the mirror after rinsing the excess dye out and using the hair dryer, pulling her hair into a messy high bun as the door opened… and Enzo glanced at Finn.

"What the hell's gotten into her?" Enzo asked quietly.

"Ask that later, now go." Finn says, nudging Enzo to the door and Enzo leaving.

"His reaction is just gonna be the start…" Amanda said after stretching back out on the bed, Finn sitting down next to her as the radio was on at a low volume with _Make Me Lose Control_ by Eric Carmen playing. "It's gotten all crazy and I think if we had sorted this out before this point, we'd…" She says as his left hand ran along her right arm and trailing off when their fingers entwined.

"You blame yourself too much… and you don't see that you're not how you used to be…" Finn says.

"I still have those moments where I feel damaged… and when it's..." Amanda whispered, noticing that Finn was resting his right hand on her face and his thumb brushed against her lower lip.

Out in the hallway, Roman and Kerry were talking when he stopped and his head snapped towards the door… he walked closer, looked through the peephole and then backed away.

"They went quiet for a reason…" Kerry started to ask.

"And it ain't just a little kiss either, she's straddling him, bad leg and all." Roman answers, Kerry's eyes widening.

"Well damn… and I thought I got enough of a shock when I saw Lauren and Rat in a kiss deeper than a submarine in a sea." Kerry said.

The two left and at the same time, the kiss was inadvertently cut off by Amanda muffling a scream as her toes bent forward and sent pain through her injured ankle, Finn turning startled and helping her prop her ankle up again.

"Who was that?" Kyle asked as he and John had heard the scream, John immediately thinking the worst and running to the door, busting it open in panic.

Amanda looked away, trying to hide her slightly reddened face but John saw the looks in hers and Finn's eyes.

"I'll just…" John says, trailing off and backing out of the room, closing the door.

"Your sis okay?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah… but I think she thought I was gonna beat Finn to death." John said, Kyle snickering slightly.

"At least that'd be more patience than James had with his sister. He practically tried to pull Rat's arm clean off the first time he saw them just sat holding hands." Kyle said.

"What the fuck?! Damn!" John says in disbelief.

"Yeah, and in an act of 'mercy', he limited himself at snapping Rat's wrist… funny thing though, these days they're almost best mates." Kyle said.

"Time changes people." John says before Kyle went to find Kerry.

"Oh no, did he hear her scream and freak out?" Kerry asked when Kyle found her in the 2nd floor hallway.

"For a few seconds…" Kyle answers.

It was when some of them were out at a park later that Carmella noticed Amanda and Finn and looked at Kyle.

"They finally kissed?" Carmella asked.

"Yep… and I'm glad they're admitting their feelings are changing." Kyle says before seeing a text on his phone from Hunter.

' _Can't reach them, are they with you all?'_

' _Yep… and the fans who watch everything, they're gonna go crazier than they have.'_ Kyle replies.

' _How close have you've been watching the shows and for how long?'_

' _Just a very long time, as well as this call for us to be involved with you all meant we had to research up backgrounds and stuff.'_ Kyle replied.

It was at the next event up in Jacksonville that Kyle and the others decided to look around the arena as part of their security checks.

"How's everything in the West hallway?" Lauren asked over the two way radio.

"West is quiet, no one here who shouldn't be." Kyle answered.

"Same over in the South one. With the slight exception of Enzo singing too loudly." Lauren replied, Kyle hearing Enzo in the background and laughing.

"How do they put up with him most days?" Kyle questioned.

"We don't know how… and before you ask, we can hear you from the scanner in our locker room." Amanda says.

"You all are really amping up security." Kyle says. "Kerry, how's the North hallway looking?"

"Well no one put a wet floor sign on it so…" Kerry starts to explain, helping a dazed Dash Wilder up to his feet.

"Dash, you alright?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah, just bruised my right arm." Dash answered, picking up a silver charm bracelet. "Uh Mandy, didn't you lose one of your birthday presents a while back?" He asked.

"Yeah… a small bracelet with white and red colored crescent moon charms. Why you ask?" Amanda answered as Dash and Kerry examined it.

"We've got it here…" Kerry said.

In the locker room later, it was set on the table.

"That's the one, Sami got it for me for my birthday… and when we were here for a live event in August, someone crashed into me and the bracelet fell off. It doesn't look like it's been stepped on or damaged in any way..." Amanda says, examining it.

"Those guys that Evan was in touch with… could they've been following us since then?" Finn asked.

"Quite possibly, that would explain the arena being bombed… where's Rat? He's our knowledge bank." Kerry said, calling for Rat through the radio… but no response came.

"The skybox…" Amanda says, starting to stand up but Finn stopped her.

"Lock the doors." Kerry says before she left, turning the radio back on. "Lauren, head to the skybox that Rat said he was headed to, above section 712."

"On it." Lauren says before heading off… when she got there, Rat was stirring around and she ran over, helping him up. "Did you see who did this?"

"Lauren…" Rat squeaked out, raising his arm to point behind her… and there in plain sight, mounted to the wall and red fuse light flashing away, was a sizeable IED.

Thinking quickly, Rat dragged Lauren and the two ran, jumping through the glass as the explosion followed them.

 **Meanwhile…**

In the locker room, Amanda was shaking violently after Finn pulled her up to her feet and held her, checking her over.

"Are you alright?!" Amanda asked as they held each other, several of the others running in and Seth brushing smoke off of him. "Where are they, Seth?! Where are Rat and Lauren?!"

"I saw Lauren run towards the skybox, moments later was when this damn thing went off!" Seth said.

"Damn it!" Amanda muttered, picking up the CB scanner. "Hunter, are you by the skybox or the seats below it?!"

"Just a few feet away… get out of the building, all of you!" Hunter said.

As everyone was exiting the building, Hunter was helping an injured Rat up before finding Lauren, her right arm broken.

"Hold still…" Hunter says, Lauren screaming as Hunter reset her arm and Rat held her close to him.

"Rat… are y… Rat?!" Lauren said, the last part as she felt the jagged edge of a shard of glass embedded between two of Rat's ribs.

"I'm fine…" Rat said, lightly prying Lauren's hand away from the glass shard and pulling her close to him, her head resting on his shoulder.

"This is… insanely fucked up." Lauren says as Hunter guided them out of the arena.


End file.
